Priscilla Lynn McLaughlin v. Commissioner of Social Security

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 PRISCILLA LYNN MCLAUGHLIN, Case No. 1:25-cv-00539-HBK 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING PARTIES’ STIPULATED MOTION TO REMAND 13 v. UNDER SENTENCE FOUR OF 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), REVERSING FINAL DECISION AND 14 COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL REMANDING CASE1 SECURITY, 15 (Doc. No. 17) Defendant. 16 ORDER MOOTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT 17 (Doc. No. 13) 18

19 20 Pending before the Court is the parties’ joint motion to remand filed October 23, 2025. 21 (Doc. No. 17). Plaintiff Priscilla Lynn McLaughlin and the Commissioner of Social Security 22 agree that this case should be remanded for further administrative proceedings under sentence 23 four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). (Id.). 24 The United States Supreme Court held that the Social Security Act permits remand in 25 conjunction with a judgment either affirming, reversing, or modifying the Secretary’s decision. 26 1 Both parties have consented to the jurisdiction of a magistrate judge in accordance with 28 U.S.C. 27 §636(c)(1). (Doc. No. 10).

28 1 | See Melkonyan vy. Sullivan, 501 U.S. 89, 97-98 (1991) (addressing issue of attorney’s fees under 2 | the Equal Access to Justice Act and calculating deadline using date of final judgment). The 3 | Melkonyan court recognized 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) contemplates only two types of remand — 4 | sentence four or sentence six. Jd. at 98. A sentence four remand authorizes a court to enter “a 5 | judgment affirming, modifying, or reversing the decision of the Secretary, with or without 6 || resetting the cause for a rehearing.” Jd. (other citations omitted). 7 The Court grants the parties’ motion to remand under sentence four and reverses the 8 | Commissioner’s final decision. As agreed upon by the parties, upon remand, the Commissioner 9 | will take further action to complete the administrative record, as necessary, and issue a new 10 | decision. 11 Accordingly, it is ORDERED: 12 1. Pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C.§ 405(g), the Court grants the joint motion to 13 remand (Doc. No. 17) and REVERSES the Commissioner’s decision. This case is 14 REMANDED to the Commissioner of Social Security for further proceedings 15 consistent with this Order. 16 2. A motion for attorney fees may be filed within thirty (30) days. 17 3. Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 13) is MOOT. 18 4. The Clerk shall enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff, terminate any deadlines, and close 19 this case. 20 *I | Dated: _ October 24, 2025 Mihaw. Wh. foareh fackte 22 HELENA M. BARCH-KUCHTA 33 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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